The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for rolling strips of flexible material into a coil and more particularly to an apparatus for rolling a strip of thick material having a predetermined length into a coil which allows the material to be removed and stored in its coiled condition.
In the manufacture of optical scanning mechanisms associated with a check-out counter, the scanner is sealed by a gasket tape mounted between the top surface of the check-out counter and the top plate of the optical scanner to seal out liquids from entering the scanner mechanism during a check-out operation. The strips of gasket tapes are shipped in a coiled condition allowing the gasket to be inserted within the scanner mechanism at the time the scanner mechanism is mounted within the check-out counter. In manually coiling the strips of gasket material, it was found in many instances that the strip would become uncoiled during the coiling operation thus increasing the time required to produce the coiled gasket strips.
Some patents of interest for showing the state of the art for ribbon wrapping mechanisms are U.S. Pat. No. 1,087,197 entitled "Ribbon Device" by W. F. Sprick and U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,700 entitled "Apparatus for Winding, Storing and Distributing Punch Paper Tape" by R. D. Gauvin.